OSU 87, UCLA 84: Beavers get to 'process' a victory

CORVALLIS – Forget that Oregon State had not beaten UCLA in 13 tries - the Beavers were far more concerned about the present.

In a must-win situation and mired in a confidence-threatening, three-game losing streak, the Beavers pulled away from UCLA in the second half and earned a crucial 87-84 win Thursday night at Gill Coliseum.

The Beavers (12-7, 2-5) shot 58 percent and got 21 points from Jared Cunningham and 20 from Devon Collier as they ended a three-game winning streak by UCLA (10-8, 3-3) and soothed the pain of two overtime losses on that three-game skid.

"We've been dancing around this for the whole week about how important
this game was,'' OSU coach Craig Robinson said. "This was an important win for us
from a lot of different standpoints.''

Robinson said earlier in the week that learning to win close games was “a process,’’ and from early on in this one, it was obvious that this would be another step in the process.

The Beavers, plagued by slow starts in many of their conference games, jumped out to an 8-0 lead, but UCLA came quickly back, taking a 10-9 lead, and the rest of the half was about as tight as could be.

In fact, for a span of about 15 minutes from late in the first half to the midway through the second, the largest lead for either team was three points.

The Beavers stretched the lead to 11 points in the second half and were never seriously threatened, although the lead was less than comfortable when Norman Powell banked in a three-pointer in the final minute to cut the lead to four.

Oregon State’s defense didn’t exactly stymie the Bruins, who also shot 58 percent, but the Beavers answered questions and eased doubts with their ability to close out a game and further the “process.’’ Now, UCLA – an assumed contender in the jumbled Pac-12 – must answer questions about its ability to win on the road after falling to 1-3 away from home.

"I think Oregon State is a talented team,'' UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "They could easily be 4-3 as
opposed to 2-5 right now, watching their games. They’re talented,
they’re young, and I thought the little point guard Starks played great
for them.

"They played good tonight
and our defense was not good and it hurt us.''

With the victory, the Beavers inched up to 10th place in the Pac-12 standings – but just three games behind the Oregon Ducks, who are tied for second place and who will play host to the Beavers next Sunday.

The Beavers improved to 2-1 at home in the league – losing only to Stanford in the four-overtime game - and on Saturday night face a USC team that is 0-6 in the Pac-12.

For UCLA, it was a rare loss to Oregon State. The 13-game winning streak was the Bruins’ longest current streak against a Pac-12 opponent.

"The biggest thing is the confidence that comes with winning and beating
a team that's doing well in our conference,'' Robinson said.

Note: The 87 points were the most UCLA has given up this season and the Beavers' highest output against the Bruins since a 97-96 double-overtime win in 1991.